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Stories For Seniors With Dementia

Good Reads For Loved Ones With Dementia

Donald’s story – caring for somebody with dementia

As a form of learning, enjoyment, escape and mental stimulation, reading is among our most rewarding activities during any phase of life. Language and literacy are vital to the quality of human experience. But can memory loss from Alzheimers disease and other forms of dementia create reading issues for older people? Will dementia bring an end to the pleasures of enjoying a good book? Eventually, perhaps. But did you know that books for dementia patients are written and designed specifically to mitigate reading issues for adults with memory problems? And that narrative and picture books for adults with dementia are more readily available than you might imagine?

These 6 Dementia Stories Made Us Laugh Out Loud

1. Hey sailor While working at an adult day care center for dementia patients, I attended to a female 90+ years old woman who was barely coherent. At one point, I was looking at her, thinking, Are you still in there? She looked back at me, smiled, and said, You like what you see, sailor? from

2. Major weight lossYesterday, I came home from work and Mom came out to the kitchen to greet me. I said, Mom, you have on my sweatpants! We each have a pair of the same soft, comfy green sweats, but hers are a size 14 and mine are a few sizes bigger. She said, I thought I had lost a lot of weight! Then she pulled up her shirt to show me that she had pinned the pants to her bra to keep them up! We had a good laugh! from AgingCare

3. Sham dirt!Mom was rifling around in her closet one day and I asked her what she was doing. Exasperated, she said Im trying to find my sham dirt! It took me a minute to figure out that she meant to say damn shirt. When she saw my puzzled look she started laughing.

Books For Dementia Patients That Resemble Books For Anyone

Too often, family members turn to childrens books to help their loved ones with dementia maintain an interest in reading. Though the intention is good, books written for children and young adults may not be appropriate for seniors. And books that are labeled as being for dementia patients may be offensive to some individuals and damaging to their self-esteem.

Fortunately, authors and publishers acknowledge the need for books specifically for seniors with dementia readers who now struggle with long paragraphs and may have trouble following a story. These books are written to be easy to read and formatted with larger text and images. By all appearances, they resemble any regular book a person would be proud to own.

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Watch: One Billion Young People Are At Risk Of Hearing Loss New Study Finds

When it comes to the potential signs of hearing loss that people are potentially ignoring, RNID found from previous research that more than 34% of people who are not diagnosed with a hearing loss admits theyve pretended to follow conversations theyve struggled to hear.

The same amount have found it difficult to follow conversations in noisy surroundings like restaurants or parties.

The charity also found almost a fifth have found themselves asking people to repeat themselves and 13% say they have been told by their partner they think they might have a problem with their hearing.

Read more: Eye health: Sleeping in make-up and other bad habits that could cause harm

Commenting on the findings, Crystal Rolfe, associate director for health at RNID, says: Everyone should be valuing and protecting their hearing as much as they value and protect their teeth, eyes or blood pressure, and this can all start with a simple hearing check.

“If over the festive season or whilst attending a New Years Eve party, you found yourself, or saw your partner or parents asking people to repeat themselves or struggling to follow a conversation, please take the first step and check your hearing.

Read more: Strictly winner Rose Ayling-Ellis calls for official recognition of British Sign Language

Girls At Playby Celeste Ng

Printable short stories for seniors with dementia

This story by the author of the New York Times bestselling novels Everything I Never Told You and Little Fires Everywhere may shock you at first. It focuses on three 13-year-old girls who play a very adult game at school. But when a new girl arrives, they are able to recapture some of the innocence theyve lost.

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Books For Dementia Patients

Picture books can be a great way to engage dementia patients. The visuals can help to trigger memories and spark conversations. The repetition of familiar stories can also provide a sense of comfort and security. And the simple act of flipping through the pages can help to calm and focus the mind. Here are some good choices:

1. The Splendor of Birds

This picture book by Emma Rose Sparrow celebrates the beauty of birds. It features stunning illustrations of different types of birds. To keep things less complicated, it avoids any written description. This book is a wonderful way for dementia patients to connect with nature and promote relaxation and peace.

2. The Fabulous Flower Book

The Fabulous Flower Book by Lucky Designs is a beautiful book with 40+ pages of different flowers with brief descriptions. It aims to have a calming effect on Alzheimers and dementia patients by reminding them of fond memories of receiving flowers from a loved one.

3. The Happy Book Landscapes

Rose Raleighs Happy Book Landscapes feature happy, brightly-colored landscapes and sceneries with little inspirational quotes to invoke tranquility and calmness. The images are cheerful and uplifting, and they are sure to bring a smile to the readers face. It is a great read for dementia patients.

Blue Sky White Clouds: A Book For Memory

Sobel wrote this book after spending time with his mother, who was diagnosed with Alzheimers disease. The author discovered his mother couldnt form full sentences or follow a traditional book storyline, but she still loved to read. This inspired him to write a book that seniors with dementia or Alzheimers disease would enjoy. The book is a simple read for memory-challenged adults, and it contains beautiful photographs that are large, bright, and realistic.

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Life Stories: Reminiscence Therapy

Reminiscence Therapy enhances the quality of life of people living with dementia by capturing sensory memoriessight, touch, taste, smell and soundhelping them remember events, people and places from their past.

Dementia Australia, the peak body for nearly half a million Australians living with dementia notes that reminiscence therapy reviewing past events is usually a positive and rewarding activity. Even if the person with dementia cannot take part verbally, it can still give them pleasure to reflect on their past.

These memories can be recorded so that the person has a written or oral record of their memories that they and their carers can draw on when their memory diminishes as the disease progresses.

Reminiscing about memories can help people feel more confident in their abilities and provide them with the opportunity to talk about what holds meaning for them.

Life story writing should be a first-line of support for elderly people and those living with dementia to help them retain their sense of identity and dignity.

The Sunshine On My Face: A Read

Losing Greg: A Dementia Story

Books written for children and young adults may not be appropriate for seniors. However, this book has realistic watercolors and designs that seniors will enjoy. While reading the book, keep your loved one engaged by asking questions. This provides more time to look at the pictures. Asking questions could also spark memories.

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To Build A Fire By Jack London

Readers who are drawn to Jack Londons stories of survival in the wild shouldnt skip this short. Set in the frozen Yukon Territory, it follows a man who unwisely decides to hike with only a dog for company and is forced to put his survival skills to the test. Youd better read this one with a hot cup of tea or coffee nearby.

Elderly Man Thinks Fast

An elderly farmer in Florida had a large pond down by his fruit orchard. One evening he decided to go down to the pond and took a five gallon bucket to pick some fruit.

As he neared the pond, he heard female voices shouting and laughing with glee. As he came closer he saw a bunch of young women skinny-dipping in the pond. He made the women aware of his presence and they all went to the deep end. One of the women shouted to him, ‘We’re not coming out until you leave!’

The old man thought for a second and said, ‘I didn’t come down here to watch you ladies swim or to make you get out of the pond naked.’

Holding the bucket up he said, ‘I’m here to feed the alligator!’

Moral: Old men can still think fast.

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The Nine Stories Collection By Jd Salinger

If you loved The Catcher in the Rye, you wont want to skip this collection of Salinger stories published in 1953. Of particular note are A Perfect Day for Bananafish and For Esme with Love and Squalor, two of the more well-known tales, both featuring children and illustrating the haunting effects of war.

Positive Impact Of Storytelling On Seniors With Dementia

Free printable short stories for seniors with dementia

Researchers studied this storytelling program in congregate living sites in one hour group meetings twice a week for six weeks.

Positive impact on the seniors with dementia included initiation of conversation and other social interactions as well as an increased expressiveness that carried through with their daily activities for several weeks after the sessions. Most participants had middle to late stages of dementia.

Seniors who use their imaginations instead of trying to use their memory can improve their mood, communication and social interactions.

Caregivers who use this process at home can have fun, show an image, and talk about it with your loved one.

Ask open ended questions and then share it with others to unleash your imagination.

Let us know if you are doing this and have suggestions for others who may want to try it out too!

Source: by Senior Care Corner staff writer March 2016

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Timeslips Helps Seniors With Dementia Have Fun With Their Imagination

TimeSlips is a free website that helps caregivers and seniors get creative and tell stories.

Using a fun image and the optional questions, ask your senior their thoughts about the photo.

Their response begins the story! This process engages their imagination and creates a fun story for you both to enjoy.

Give them plenty of time to talk about the image. If the conversation stops, ask another simple question to keep the story going. You can choose to write the stories down or just talk and enjoy the conversation.

This activity can be done anywhere and keeps you both entertained and engaged. Make the story as short or long as you want. Anything goes as long as your older adult is having fun.

You can also browse stories created by other people. We created a story of our own check out the screenshots below:

The TimeSlips story we created

TimeSlips questions get the creative juices flowing

The Veldt By Ray Bradbury

If you adore Bradbury as much as we do, youll love reading this science fiction story about technology gone awry. A family of four lives in a home equipped with advanced technology, including a simulation room for the children to experience their wildest fantasies. But when their parents become disturbed by the houses control over their children, they must fight back.

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Provides A Sense Of Companionship

Interacting with books whether its listening to audiobooks or engaging in conversations about the story can help to stimulate critical thinking skills. Whats more, reading can provide a much-needed sense of connection and companionship for dementia patients who may feel isolated from the world.

Keeping Busy: A Handbook Of Activities For Persons With Dementia By James R Dowling

Stories for Seniors with Dementia | Memory Recall Questions | Senior Reminiscing

This book combines advice, humor, how-to guides, and compassion for seniors with dementia. It offers plenty of suggestions for how elderly people with dementia can still remain active and enjoy their lives. The language is clear enough for people with dementia to read, and it can also be quite useful for caregivers.

Caring for a loved one with dementia or other forms of cognitive decline can be challenging for family members. Families who need help caring for a senior loved one can turn to Home Care Assistance, a leading provider of Philadelphia home care. Services available in our customizable care plans include meal prep, mental and social stimulation, assistance with personal hygiene tasks, and much more.

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Types Of Reading Activities For Elders

Remind clients that it is important to have fun! Having fun is a good source of relaxation and stimulation. The goal of read-aloud activities is for clients to enjoy themselves.

Audience participation Stories

An audience participation story engages the audience in the story. It is a fun activity that promotes focus and creativity. Clients may repeat a word or phrase throughout the story: sing, gesture, or act.

Reading and Reminiscing

Read storybooks favourites that clients read as children such as:

  • The Faraway Tree
  • Anne of Green Gables
  • and many many more

Read interesting and funny passages from these stories and talk about the book and the era in which it was written.

Open-Ended stories

Open-ended stories provide a creative way to engage clients in a story. Read a short story where the ending in inconclusive or incomplete. Clients may speculate how the story can continue, or how the problem can be solved. Write client answers on a white board and read them out at the end of the activity. .

Chapter books

Chapter books are for clients who can reasonably follow the stories. Just recap the plot at the beginning of every session and proceed with the next chapter. Clients may enjoy authors such as:

  • Raymond Chandler
  • and many others

Memory Books For Dementia Patients

Memory books are a simple yet powerful tool for dementia patients that can help bring moments of joy and connection. A memory book can be a photo album or journal that captures past happy memories and shared experiences. For someone living with dementia, looking through a memory book with captions can help to preserve a sense of self and connection to others, as well as providing moments of enjoyment. Some good ones would be:

1. List it! Activity book for Dementia Patients

This activity book is designed specifically to help those suffering from dementia or Alzheimers, as well as other elderly citizens with memory loss. Unlike other books aimed at the elderly, this one is tailored specifically for those with various stages of dementia. It helps to stimulate the mind and keep memories alive by providing a variety of activities to participate in.

2. 1950s Memory Lane

This book is a compilation of memories from the 1950s. It contains stories and anecdotes from people who lived through that decade, as well as photos and other memorabilia. The book offers a snapshot of life in the 1950s, from fashion to popular culture to politics. It is a fun read for anyone who wants to revisit that era.

3. American Landmarks Picture Book

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The Benefits Of Reading

There are many different reasons why the elderly may give up reading. Common barriers include poor vision, lack of strength to hold up a book, tremors, dementia, and other medical reasons.

Giving up reading does not mean that they have lost interest in books, magazines, and newspapers however. In fact, losing the ability to read often leaves people feeling withdrawn, sad and isolated.

  • Increase social interaction

What To Read Or Recommend To Dementia Patients

Free Short Stories For Seniors With Dementia *T UTUHCUPAN

Care Management, Caregiver support, Dementia and Alzheimer’s, Education, In Home Care, News, Senior Care

By Lauren Mahakian Contributing writer. Originally published in Palos Verdes Peninsula News on 8/12/2021

For so many people, reading is a way to keep the brain agile, but it is also an exciting, entertaining way to engage with the world around us.

Not only are books full of thrilling stories and intriguing information, but just the act of reading can be extremely beneficial to brain health. In addition to mood improvement and the calming effects of enjoying a good book, studies show there are long-term cognitive benefits to being a bookworm!

But, as we get older, and particularly for those facing dementia and memory impairment issues, reading can be an overwhelming task with some unfamiliar obstacles. Someone suffering from dementia, might have issues with eyesight or with the weight of the book, for example.

And, for those with short-term memory loss, following the course of a story, especially one meant to be read over an extended period of time or in multiple sessions, can be especially difficult. Making plot connections and working through heightened language just adds to the frustration and can detract from the enjoyment or benefits reading is meant to offer.

Although these obstacles may sound daunting, books can still be a major source of joy, engagement and positive mental exercise for those experiencing dementia. Reading aloud also offers great solutions.

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What Do Researchers Suggest

Fundació ACE is a nonprofit foundation in Barcelona, Spain, serving people with Alzheimers disease or other dementias and their caregivers in the fields of diagnosis, treatment, research, training and awareness. Marina Guitart is a psychologist and coordinator of the foundations Day Care Unit. She observes that many people with dementia retain their ability to read but lose focus or become easily fatigued. They give up on reading because of the effort involved in keeping the thread of the story.

Dr. Guitart advises, Dont stop reading. Reading every day helps preserve language and memory longer. But be sure to choose reading materials wisely for loved ones with dementia. Find books with photos and clear, large text.

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